Individuals who enjoy spending time at the beach use tents, sunshades and windblock structures as part of their recreational activity. Various features of these devices that the public desire include portability, collapsibility, durability and general attractive appearance. One critical feature required of any tent structure to enjoy acceptance and use by the public is that the device be easy to set up in a minimal amount of time.
The prior art provides many examples of various tent-like structures. Several examples within the prior art disclose certain features or improvements including collapsible and portable structures. However, the prior art suffers from one or more disadvantages, including, in general terms difficulty in setting the structures up for use. Moreover, the prior art tent structures provide but one configuration when assembled. That is, these devices provide one configuration for use, thereby limiting the overall recreational utility of the device.
One example of a foldable tent frame is disclosed in Brady, U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,794, Unitized Foldable Tent Frame. Brady patent describes a unitized foldable tent framework comprised of a series of elongated members pivotally connected to form a roof section and a wall or perimeter section. While the Brady structure is designed to be foldable and incorporates an elastic perimeter element to accommodate increased overall dimensions, the assembled structure is limited to but one configuration.
Similar in design to Brady is Niksic et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,552, Geodetic Tent Structure. The Niksic patent teaches a self-supporting and collapsible dome-shaped tent structure comprised of a plurality of light-weight structural rods assembled with connecting hubs. As described within the Niksic patent, the free-standing tent structure requires the use of a structurally cooperative floor section capable of bearing tension from the domed tent structure members. The Niksic structure, while being collapsible and allegedly portable, is, upon being assembled, limited to one structural configuration.
Both the Brady and Niksic devices disclose the use of complex hub mechanisms to interconnect the structural frame members. The use of these hub mechanisms appear to require extensive set up time because each hub must be appropriately twisted or rotated to lock the structural members into a rigid configuration.
Another example of a portable tent structure is the Jasin, U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,028, self-erecting tent on folding case. Within Jasin, a tent-like structure is disclosed having a top and bottom surface that is shaped about a symmetrical center folding line such that, upon unfolding the structure, results in the opening of a substantially concave shell section capable of accommodating a sleeping bag. While the Jasin device appears to be relatively easy to set up, it, like the other prior art devices, is restricted to one configuration when assembled or opened, thereby limiting its recreational utility.
It is clear that none of the prior art discloses a device capable of being easily and quickly set up, that is also easily configured into a portable tent, sunshade, windblock and a dressing room. In light of the disadvantages and structural deficiencies in the prior art, an objective of the present invention is to provide a tent-like structure capable of being configured into different structures for use as a tent, sunshade, windblock or other related type of recreational devices. In addition, a related objective of the present invention is that the device be easily assembled, readily collapsible and portable.
The above-noted problems and deficiencies exhibited by the prior art are each addressed and resolved by the present invention, and accordingly provides a significant improvement over the prior art relating to tent structures.